Like Magic? Stanford’s Haley Jones savors comparison to NBA legend
Former Mitty star finds her footing in her first Final Four appearance
Haley Jones of Santa Cruz had never heard anyone compare her to former NBA great Earvin “Magic” Johnson.
Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer made the connection recently when asked about Jones’ ability to play almost every position on the court.
“That’s the highest compliment I’ve ever heard,” Jones said after leading Stanford to the NCAA championship game last Sunday against the University of Arizona with a season-saving performance in her first Final Four appearance.
The top overall seeded Cardinal (30-2) survived last-second chaos to defeat South Carolina on Friday behind Jones’ 24 points on 11-of-14 shooting. Jones scored a clutch jumper with 32 seconds left for what turned out to be the game-winning shot as South
Carolina missed two closerange attempts just before the buzzer.
Stanford faces Pac-12 rival Arizona (21-5) in San Antonio as coach Tara VanDerveer tries to win an NCAA title 29 years after her last one in 1992.
The Cardinal has a real chance to give VanDerveer her third national championship, with Jones showing why she was the national high school player of the year at Archbishop Mitty two years ago.
Jones said VanDerveer had never told her she played like “Magic.”
“Magic Johnson is a legend,” Jones said. “I love watching him play. The way that he is so long, lanky, agile, athletic, he’s kind of like a point forward like myself, I guess. He can really do everything. I love his passing ability and the court vision that he has.”
VanDerveer, who was named national coach of the year by two groups Friday, said she most appreciates Jones’ team-oriented play. While senior guard Kiana Williams has been Stanford’s leader this season, Jones is the player who keeps all the pieces moving because of her court sense and unselfish play.
“That was arguably her best game in a Stanford uniform,” VanDerveer said Saturday of the previous day’s outcome. “It is really exciting to watch how her game is evolving. You name it, she is doing it for us.”
And when others falter, she is not afraid to step up. Jones, for instance, made only 1 of 9 3-point shots before the NCAA Tournament. Jones has made 5 of 8 in the tournament.
“I know it was something that I did a lot in high school,” she said. “I think I just kind of stopped working on my craft with it. That’s on me for doing that.”
With Stanford forced to stay on the road for nine weeks, Jones and her teammates did not have the luxury this season to get to their campus gymnasium for extra shooting practice.
But Jones worked on her outside shooting last year after suffering a knee ligament injury that ended her freshman season. Jones said the shooting was part of her recovery.
“I think reps really paid into my confidence,” Jones said. “And my teammates see me shoot at practice, I feel confident. It started falling this tournament. So now I’m just running with it.”
When Jones’ name came up Saturday, Arizona coach Aida Barnes rolled her eyes, then said, “Unfortunately, I’m going to have to see her for many more years so that’s the bad thing.”
Jones, a 6-foot-1 All-American honorable mention, represents where the women’s game is headed. Players are so versatile and fluid they can no longer be boxed into a particular position.
This was by design, Mitty coach Sue Phillips said Saturday. When Jones arrived at the San Jose parochial school as a freshman, Phillips said she told her, “Haley, you realize you can play all five positions on the floor?”
Phillips said Jones was willing to slow down her development to master each position. Parents Patrick and Monique Jones, former basketball coaches at Santa Cruz High School, encouraged the plan.
“There was a constant reinforcement of developing this positionless basketball player,” Phillips said. “We took half the alphabet and we said every day we’re going to work on each letter. At the end of four years, it culminated in Haley’s wellbalanced arsenal.”
Jones is unafraid to challenge taller post players on dribble drives. Her ball movement also creates space for short jump shots or for finding open teammates.
Jones entered the semifinals averaging 12.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists.
“What impresses me, the vast majority of the time she makes the right basketball play,” Phillips said. “Whether that is scoring or passing or cutting to create space or screening, there is in her mind the right way to play the game.”
Jones said it has been an emotional ride as Stanford spent 63 days of the regular season on the road, traveling more than 7,000 miles.
“We came back to school,” Jones said. “We couldn’t really leave our dorm rooms, couldn’t go to Target to get hair supplies or anything like that.
“It has taken a toll on everyone in a different way. That could have broken a lot of different teams.”
Making the clutch shot against South Carolina, Jones said, was special because of the team’s closeness.
“This just means so much more than any past shot, any past season, any game win that I’ve ever been a part of,” she said.
Now Jones and Stanford have one more game to make the journey even sweeter.